Upa Lokayukta Adi must stay

The move by the Congress government in Karnataka to remove Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash Adi is unjustified. A petition to Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa, signed by 78 Congress legislators, seeking Adi’s removal is not convincing. The attempt reeks of a sinister motive – which is to defang the institution of the Lokayukta and render it non-functional. The petition states that the Upa Lokayukta should be removed on grounds of misconduct and incompetence. These terms are subjective and relative in the absence of any facts corroborating their usage.

The removal of Lokayukta Justice Bhaskar Rao was agreed upon by all political parties as there are serious charges of nepotism and aiding corruption against him. But, the Congress is using the opportunity to do away with Adi. The Upa Lokayukta may have been an appointee of the erstwhile BJP government when Jagdish Shettar was the chief minister. He could even be a close friend of Shettar. But these links cannot be held against Adi as his professional conduct has been above reproach. The Congress probably fears that under him a few corruption cases could land a section of ruling party members in trouble. Once Bhaskar Rao is removed, the responsibility will fall on Adi to carry forward the work of the institution of Lokayukta though he can only discharge administrative responsibility and cannot pass any direction. The other Upa Lokayukta Justice S B Majage retired a few months ago. The Congress is relying on charges made by Majage that Adi overstepped his jurisdiction to clear a Hubballi medical officer of corruption charges. But Adi has stated that the division of work between the two Upa Lokayuktas was merely an informal internal arrangement.

The move to remove Adi, obviously with the blessings of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, will seriously blot the reputation of the Congress government if it insists on having its way. Already, there are charges against some ruling party legislators in the Arkavathi land scam which is being investigated by Adi. The Congress move, therefore, can be interpreted as being motivated. Adi is also probing another land scandal in Belagavi where some Congress politicians are reportedly implicated. That the move to oust Adi is contentious can be gauged by reports that a section of Congress legislators themselves are unhappy with the leadership’s decision. It is not too late, though. Siddaramaiah and his Law Minister T B Jayachandra will do well to back off from the move and allow the institution of Lokayukta to have a free run and enable it to function effectively. This will spare the Congress from embarrassing itself while simultaneously safeguarding a crucial anti-corruption institution.